The Attorney General will go to court to demand that Tony Blair should not be prosecuted over the Iraq war, it has been reported.

Jeremy Wright QC, the Government’s top law officer, is believed to have intervened in the attempted private prosecution of the former Prime Minister, claiming that the case is “hopeless”.

It comes after a judge ruled in November last year that Mr Blair had “immunity” from criminal prosecution.

He is seeking to intervene in this case because it raises issues about the scope of criminal law

Attorney General spokesman

A spokesman for the Attorney General would not be drawn on whether Mr Wright would oppose the attempted prosecution, but did say: "He is seeking to intervene in this case because it raises issues about the scope of criminal law."

The private prosecution - brought forward by General Abdul-Wahid Shannan ar-Ribat, the former chief of staff of the Iraqi Army - is in relation to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and seeks the trial of Mr Blair, then foreign secretary Jack Straw, and the attorney general at the time, Lord Goldsmith. It reportedly seeks their conviction for the crime of "aggression" and is based on the findings of the Chilcot report into the war.

The Attorney General's spokesman added: "It is not unusual for the Attorney General to intervene in these sort of cases in order to represent the public interest."

Imran Khan, for Ribat, said his client was “baffled as to why it is that despite the Chilcot report making it very clear that the war was illegal, attempts are below made to prevent those responsible from entering a court, let alone being prosecuted for what they did”.